2008 Reflections

As the stroke of midnight came this year during a more low-key shrimp boil party over at my sister's house, I looked at Dan and thought "what would I ever do without you", and then promptly kissed him and hugged him to ring in 2009.

2008 was a big year for us although I've heard many refer to 2008 as a disappointing year in their lives. Was this a global problem that stemmed beyond the economy? Do many find themselves waiting for 2009 and a new beginning? It makes me reflect on what has happened in 2008, since it didn't occur to me that it had been such a bad year.

• My grandmother got diagnosed with cancer... and beat it.
• We lost a friend, Thor, suddenly during a routine medical procedure... and discovered that his pregnant wife is having another girl (they already had 2).
• We got to see the first African American be elected President by a shockingly large margin.
• We moved back home from New York City.
• We decided to expand the Shepard clan... and I got pregnant a few months later.
• We saved up a ton of money that we'll be putting into a home purchase sometime early 2009.

That's just a few things. I guess if you view it from a certain angle, then 2008 could have been seen as bad... but the way I see it, it was a pivotal year for the Shepard family. 2009 will be even better. I don't know how I would have done any of it without Dan and as we shared our moment during the stroke of midnight, I felt so thankful that I had the perfect person to share all my years with (new and old).

Welcome 2009. This is the year that our lives will change even more... and all for the better. Hope you have as much to look forward to as we do. Happy New Year.